So since I got my little fishy I have noticed his fins have slowly gotten worse thinking it was just elements of the tank messing them up i never thought it could be fin rot until now since it havs just been getting worse I have followed betta care by the book testing 50% water changes 2 times a week for my 5 gallon filtered and I think it must be fin rot.
I went to get AQ salt today how do I treat him? and am I not keeping the tank clean enough or am i over cleaning??

Housing
What size is your tank? 5g
What temperature is your tank?80
Does your tank have a filter? yes
Does your tank have an air stone or other type of aeration? no
Is your tank heated? yes
What tank mates does your betta fish live with? none

Food
What type of food do you feed your betta fish? pellet and frozen
How often do you feed your betta fish? 2 times a day

Maintenance
How often do you perform a water change? have been doing 2 times a week now going down to 1
What percentage of the water do you change when you perform a water change? 50%
What type of additives do you add to the water when you perform a water change? stress coat plus

Water Parameters:
Have you tested your water? If so, what are the following parameters?

Ammonia:.25ppm ( I cant seem to ge tthis to do down but my baseline is 0 for ammonia)
Nitrite:0ppm
Nitrate:5ppm
pH:7.6
Hardness:NA
Alkalinity: NA

Symptoms and Treatment
How has your betta fish's appearance changed? yes his tail has been getting worse and worse
How has your betta fish's behavior changed? nope
When did you start noticing the symptoms? when i got the betta
Have you started treating your fish? If so, how? not yet (I want to use AQ salt)
Does your fish have any history of being ill? no
How old is your fish (approximately)? 5 months old maybe?

It looks more like he is biting or damage due to the filter/water movement....Do the tips look discolored and crusty...If not, it might be biting or damage from the water movement and not fin rot per se.

What I would recommend is a fresh, dechlorinated water treatment either in a 1gal unfiltered tank or in his 5gal-but remove the filter, make 3 weekly water changes of 50% for the first week-Then twice weekly for 1 week-Then weekly.
He may not be able to tolerate the filter

Nutrition-good quality varied diet fed in small frequent meals. If you have access to live mosquito larva-offer several rinsed several times a day to boost protein intake to support immune response and healing.

It looks more like he is biting or damage due to the filter/water movement....Do the tips look discolored and crusty...If not, it might be biting or damage from the water movement and not fin rot per se.

What I would recommend is a fresh, dechlorinated water treatment either in a 1gal unfiltered tank or in his 5gal-but remove the filter, make 3 weekly water changes of 50% for the first week-Then twice weekly for 1 week-Then weekly.
He may not be able to tolerate the filter

Nutrition-good quality varied diet fed in small frequent meals. If you have access to live mosquito larva-offer several rinsed several times a day to boost protein intake to support immune response and healing.

Keep us posted....

Oh poo I forgot to say that isnt a picture of him his are a bit more curled at the ends but dont look crusty I just want to try to promote regrowth the filter is baffled with a sponge could it still be the filter? I know he did take an obvious bite from one spot but the rest looks like tears. I put him in a hospital tank last night with a heather (2L) and AQ salt should I just put him back in his 5 gal and stop treatment with AQ or could that help?? I dont have access to live food but I did get him frozen bloodworms any other suggestions for food???

It looks more like he is biting or damage due to the filter/water movement....Do the tips look discolored and crusty...If not, it might be biting or damage from the water movement and not fin rot per se.

What I would recommend is a fresh, dechlorinated water treatment either in a 1gal unfiltered tank or in his 5gal-but remove the filter, make 3 weekly water changes of 50% for the first week-Then twice weekly for 1 week-Then weekly.
He may not be able to tolerate the filter

Nutrition-good quality varied diet fed in small frequent meals. If you have access to live mosquito larva-offer several rinsed several times a day to boost protein intake to support immune response and healing.

Keep us posted....

Also if I do the freshwater treatment and take out the filter FOR GOOD AS TO NOT HURT HIM FURTHER. would that be okay with live plants to keep the filter out and do 100% changes or could that disturb the plants too much (JUST JAVA MOSS AND ANUBIAS) Thanks so much for the help

To me, it looks like filter damage....With some of the long fin males-their delicate fins can't tolerate any water movement or even much use to swim...Kinda like the flag in the wind effect....The fin tips get tattered and this is an opening in the tissue that often can end up as a secondary infection. Maintain water quality and add a tannin source to help toughen the fins.